Iceland

Iceland is a Norse island country in the North Atlantic, with Reykjavik serving as its capital. In 874, Ingolfr Arnarson led the Norwegian colonization of Iceland, and Norwegian settlers and Gaelic thralls populated the island over the next few centuries. It was governed as an independent commonwealth by the Althing, and, in 1262, it became a part of the Old Kingdom of Norway after signing the Old Covenant. In 1397, Iceland fell under Danish rule, and Lutheranism was forcefully introduced in 1550. In 1918, Iceland became an independent kingdom in a personal union with Denmark, and, in 1944 - after four years of Allied occupation during World War II - Iceland became a republic. After the war, Marshall Plan aid and the industrialization of fisheries brought prosperity to Iceland, and it became a market economy with relatively low taxes, universal healthcare, a social welfare system, and strong democracy and equality. In 2019, Iceland had a population of 358,780 people.